Earthquake and tornado proof building



March 26, 1929. P. PIERI UAKE AND @ORN/mo PROOF BI'LDING EABTHQ Filed June 30, 1927 Illll Patented Mar., T26, 192i?.

sito sfra'rns Param orrlcn.

PMPEG PIERI, GF RETI YORK, N. Y.

EABTHQAKE AND TORNADO IROOF BUILDING.

Application filed Jane 30,

Idevised and established as to prcventsuch damaging results the collapse or overthrow of dwelling houses, apartment houses, or other buildings as a result oi' earthquakes, tornadoes, cyclones, or the like.

A further object of the invention is toextend the advantages above specified so as to include the reinforcement of houses already built, thereby rendering them earthquake andv tornado-proof, as well as buildings about to be constructed. y

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangenient and combination o't'parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a -practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like' reference cha -acters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a diagrammatic perspective View showing the adaptability of my improvement for the protection or reinforcement of a series ot' buildings along or among which are provided streets or roadways in any desired direction.

Fig. 2 is a plan view in diagram indicating the extension of my improvement into rural orsuburban territory.

Referring nowl .more specifically to the drawings, I indicate at l() and 11 the intersecting streets of a portion of a city or village along or adjacent lo which are erected houses or shops of any suitable design or construe` tion and which are approached from the streets or ri'iadways 'l0 and 11 over or along sidewalks 13 or their equivalent..

Extending along the streets and preferably coextensivc therewith are a series ot glrders 14 and l5 parallel respectively with the twov streets 10 and 11 and intersecting such streets 1827. Serial No. 22,520.

in squares corresponding to the street squares. These girders may be made of any suitable material, but preferably are in the 'l'orm of steel channel members, and they are connected together endwise and crosswise by any suitable means well known to the art of steel construction.

Built in or in connection with the houses or other buildings 12 are a series of vertical frame members 16 which while erected at or along the corners ot' thc buildings or may constitute the corner posts of such lmildings, may be installed at any desired points along or' within the buildings and either before vor alter the completion thereof. 'he lower ends of these posts 16 are of course rigidly conn nected with the network o Agirders 1l and 15 below the level ot' the street or roadway and constitute therewith a practically unitary or homogeneous framework of strong` steel structure.

Between the npper'ends oi the posts 16 arer cated at 19, and the ends ot' these beams arey connected rigidly and permanently to the posts 16. f

In applyine myinvention to rural districts it will lie understood that beginning at a certain center or nucleus, I may extend a pair ot girders 10n along any street or roadway so as to define the sidewalk lilies thereof or the building linesas may be desired, and from vsaid girders 10a may be 'extended laterally what may be termed laterals 2O so as to connect a house building site or a build ing with the street or. roadway girders,l and then erect what correspond to the posts 16 so as to make a continuous unitaryrigid and sturdy network ot' steel construction. Y

From the foregoing it will-be obvious that practically all or at least a very large percentage o l the damage and losses due to earthquatres, tornadoes. or the like will be eliminated together with the accompamying protection to the lil'e olf individuals because ot the network ol sturdy steel construction.

l claim:

In building constructions as ser forth, the

combination of a plurality of girders extending along and coextensive with interseetinw streets and located below' the surface thereo separate spaced buildings having upright building elements anchored at their bases to Said girders for reinforcing the buildings associated therewith, and transverse beams anchored to the upper ends` ofl said upright building elements and constituting with the uprights and girders a continuous system of strong metallic reinforcements between the buildings orresisting the damaging effects 0f earthquakes, tornadoes, or the like.

ln testimony whereof I aix my signature. POMPE() PIER. 

